Garden of the Gods

South of Denver, CO, somewhere near Colorado Springs, is a little park called Garden of the Gods. I must admit, it had some of the most sheerly impressive natural rock formations I've seen. This is but on of them. The space under the pendulous rock formation is large enough for several people to crouch below, though I don't recommend it and the park service forbids it. That didn't stop several ninnies from doing it while we were there, however.

Ninnies - the rant

I will indulge myself once, and merely link back here when ninnies are encountered.

When we put "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses..." on the base of the big lady, we didn't quite realize what we were getting ourselves into. I suppose it's an absolute fact. In any nation, race, or creed of people, there are bound to be those who are complete and utter nincompoops. In my book this fact is exemplified by people who deface national landmarks, who willfully violate park service guidelines, or who think the big signs that say things like "don't climb rocks" and "don't feed the animals" must apply to someone else.

If any of you has ever found yourself in a national park or near a monument or even driving down the road in your car, wondering if the no littering, no graffiti, or no climbing rules apply to you or your children, trust me, they do. Here's a clue, folks. Those signs apply to everyone. To me, to you, to Bob Segar, to Hillary Clinton, and even to Brittany Spears (heaven forbid we call her our own).

My favorite part of being a Cub Scout mom is that I get to teach my son and the boys of his pack that to "Leave No Trace" is divine. My hubby and I embrace that philosophy in our own personal travels as well. It is my fondest hope that each of you do/will, too, rather than join the ranks of the ninnies who continue to deface and damage our national treasures and blunt the beauty of America.